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What Insurance Carriers See That Perhaps Your Funding Plan Doesn’t Take Into Consideration

By Charlotte Allen, CIRMS

This article first appeared in the Communicator Magazine, Summer 2026 Issue.

The reserve study is something well- intentioned community associations take seriously. It gets updated every three years, disclosed to homeowners annually, drives budgets, shapes special assessment conversations and gives boards and community members a sense of security. And, I’m here to tell you it often has a blind spot, one that is unexpectedly impacting communities.

The Reserve Study Does What It’s Supposed to Do

Let me be clear, I am not here to criticize reserve studies. They are legally required under our Civil Code for very good reasons. A well-prepared reserve study identifies major components of your association’s common areas and estimates their remaining useful life, develops replacement and repair cost estimates and lays out a plan so that the association isn’t blindsided by a...

By Robert W. Browning, PCAM, RS  

For years, tariffs were a topic mostly confined to college classrooms and economic policy debates. But, as recent headlines have shown, tariffs have stepped firmly into the mainstream – and with them, new and unexpected implications are emerging across various sectors, including reserve studies.  

If our office is any indication, in recent months, reserve specialists are fielding an increasing number of questions: Are tariffs impacting reserve studies? If so, how should associations respond? This article explores what tariffs are, how they might influence reserve funding plans, and what tools associations can use to mitigate their effects.  

What Is a tariff? A tariff is defined by Random House Webster’s Dictionary (1996) as “a schedule of duties imposed by a government on imports or exports.” In practical terms, tariffs are taxes placed on goods entering (or leaving) a country, designed to influence trade dynamics, support domestic industries, or a...

Understanding the Terms, the Funding, and Why They Matter. This article first appeared in the Summer 2024 Edition of The Communicator Magazine. 

By Zer Iyer, Esq.

RESERVE STUDY. The term is common in the HOA lexicon. Managers know their associations need them. Board members know they need them. But what is a reserve study, really, and why are they getting so much attention now? Well, it all comes down to – what else – money. Due to the number of unanticipated expenses that associations are now facing, (think: aging communities, increased insurance premiums, inflation impacting just about everything), financial planning for communities has never been more important, and reserve studies are the most effective financial planning tool associations have. Understanding what reserve studies are, how they operate, and the role they should play in an association’s budget is no longer something that only experienced or senior community managers need to know; it is knowledge that all community ...